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The 20th annual Business Forum started on Mt. Kopaonik on Wednesday. More than 500 participants are attending the conference. “There is no universal economic recipe for overcoming the crisis, and the solution depends on the economic structure of each country,” Serbian Association of Economists (SES) President Aleksandar Vlahovic said at the opening of the forum.“The government has bravely started the process of fiscal consolidation and prevented the potential bankruptcy of the country,” he added.

Vlahović also qualified as positive that the government had abandoned
the policy of encouraging the growth of the economy through spending,
adding that it was important to define sector policies and to activate
resources such as agriculture, food industry, energy sector and
infrastructure.

This, according to him, is the basis for reindustrialization.

Vlahović pointed out that the country lacked continuity in reforms, adding that its economic activity should be encouraged.

"A
way out of crisis cannot be sought in state entrepreneurship and it is
necessary to carry out a reform of the public sector," he said.

Vlahović
underlined that it was important to work on the reform of the labor
market, raising the efficiency of public companies and that the
privatization of companies in restructuring should be completed.

“The pension system should also be reformed and the economic environment should be improved,” he added.

The
Forum, which is being held under the auspices of the Serbian government
and organized by the SES and the Serbian Association of Corporate
Directors, brings together more than 500 businessmen from the country
and the region, but also state officials and representatives of
international institutions.

Opening remarks at this year's
Business Forum, which is being held under the title "Reindustrialization
and Related Topics," will be made by Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić
and Finance and Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić.

The first day of
the conference will focus on the role of the industrial sector, foreign
investments and the country's economic recovery, with Head of EU
Mission to Serbia Vincent Degert and U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael
Kirby participating.